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Magic: The Gathering players consistently adopt tribe-based tactics — who has not constructed an elf deck before? — and the new ATLA Universes Beyond set revives two popular mechanics that align seamlessly to the theme.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first ability, called "Ally," was debuted in a Zendikar which gives buffs each time additional creatures with the Ally subtype enter play.

On the other hand, "Shrines" is another enchantment-based subtype which originated in Kamigawa. Although not a creature tribe, these enchantments likewise become strength when a player owns additional Shrines in play.

A Comeback of Allies Ability

While Shrine cards have shown up occasionally across newer sets, Allies mechanic has been much rarer — but this changes with ATLA, in which the feature gets heavily featured.

Aang must gather a lot of allies during the quest to restore peace to the world, and there's no better method to reflect this in a Magic expansion.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After the first card announcement, here are previews of an Allies and a Shrines cards in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

This character stands as one popular minor character from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man from Earth Kingdom that resided in an Air Temple after his home was destroyed by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Due to his father's skill in engineering, he can glide through the skies with his glider, even dares the Avatar to an aerial contest.

This card Teo, Spirited Glider reproduces his love of the skies along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by letting the player draw and discard each time a player attacks with a flying creature, while additionally boosting your team with counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Speaking of Teo's dwelling, it is represented in a card named The Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on how many of Shrines you have.

It furthermore removes an additional life anytime another Shrine enters the battlefield.

This appears to be a powerful addition, considering the card's low cost and good enter the battlefield ability.

A big weakness of Shrine decks outside of Commander are the fact that Shrines are always legendary permanents, but this card can be great in combination alongside another Shrine, that drains every opponent at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Crossover

Currently when Universes Beyond products are garnering a lot of hate from the community, a beloved franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Preview period has begun, and the full set set to be released November 21st.